LATAM Brasil postponed resuming its long-haul flight between São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) and Johannesburg International Airport (JNB). It has been moved from August 3 to September 2.

Pushing back the date

LATAM Brasil has not flown to Johannesburg for more than three years now. The route from Sao Paulo to the company’s only destination in Africa was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike other unique routes LATAM Airlines offers (such as Santiago de Chile-Auckland-Sydney), this service has not been restored.

LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner CC-BGM
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Last year, the airline announced it would return to Johannesburg on August 3. Now it has been postponed to September due to untold reasons. Once reactivated, the route will be operated with the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which can carry 313 passengers in a three-class configuration. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, LATAM Brasil employed its now-gone Airbus A350 fleet to serve this route.

As reported by NewsAvia, the frequency of the flights will remain the same as planned for August, with services departing São Paulo on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and from Johannesburg on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

The flight from São Paulo, LA 8058, will depart Guarulhos airport at 17:25 and arrive in Johannesburg at 8:10 the next day. The return flight, LA 8059, will leave Johannesburg at 12:45 and arrive in São Paulo at 19:00.

LATAM has begun selling tickets for flights to Johannesburg. The airline has previously stated that business and leisure travelers will accept the route well.

LATAM Brasil’s international connectivity

As of March 2023, LATAM offers 227 weekly international flights from Brazil, mainly from Guarulhos International. The airline also runs a few international services from other cities, such as Curitiba, Florianopolis, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre.

LATAM Airlines Boeing 767-316(ER) PT-MSW (2)-1
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

From Guarulhos International, LATAM flies to 21 foreign airports and 20 cities (it serves Buenos Aires’ two main hubs, Ezeiza and Jorge Newbery). The longest flights operated by LATAM from Brazil go to Frankfurt (6,075 miles), Milan (5,881), London Heathrow (5,863), Rome (5,849), and Paris (5,829). The service to Johannesburg would not crack this top five as the distance between Guarulhos and O.R. Tambo International Airport is just 4,630 miles.

Later this year, LATAM Brasil will also begin flying to Los Angeles International (LAX) as part of its Joint Venture Agreement with Delta Air Lines.

LATAM Brasil’s performance in 2022 and 2023

Last year, LATAM Brasil carried 31.17 million passengers, according to the country’s Civil Aviation National Agency data. The airline had 2.49 million international travelers, a low number compared to pre-pandemic levels due to travel restrictions and a slow recovery.

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Between January and February 2023, LATAM Brasil carried 5.71 million passengers, leading the Brazilian market with a 31.19% market share. Internationally, the carrier had 520,587 travelers in the year's first two months. The airline has a fleet of 135 aircraft, including 14 long-haul planes (three Boeing 767-300(ER)s, ten Boeing 777-300(ERs), and one Boeing 787-9).

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Source: NewsAvia.